The idea of going to the Caribbean isn’t anything that is well-planned. But I’ve had a lot of planning for a while. It’s just something that he proposed we do and the next thing I know, we’re taking off.

“So, you’re leaving? Just like that?” Caroline asks. I nod as I pack my bag. I don’t really know what to bring. All of my summer clothes are packed away in the back of my closet and I’m struggling to get them out.

Caroline is pretty much up to date on everything that has been going on. Our failed engagement. The Page Six article that revealed me as a romance writer, and the yacht auction where I met and started dating Aiden Black. His firing as CEO of Owl.

“I promise that I will be back soon,” I say. We still haven’t talked much about what happened to her in Maine. All I know is that Tom was arrested and charged with rape and assault and he’s awaiting trial. She will be the star witness against him. I am also expected to testify, since he attacked me as well. But I haven’t heard anything from the District Attorney, or her attorney, about any of this.

“I’m going to have my cell phone with me. And I will have email as well. That way, if anything happens with the case, I will be available. I’ll take the first flight out.”

Caroline looks away. She hates talking about this, but we have to. I need her to know that I’m going to be there for her, no matter what.

“This whole thing…it’s just a bit much to deal with,” Caroline says. Suddenly, something occurs to me. Perhaps she wants me to stay. Maybe she needs me more than I thought she did.

“Do you want me to cancel the trip?” I ask.

Caroline shakes her head. “Don’t be silly.”

“It’s not silly. It’s no problem. I mean, I’ll stay if you want me to.”

Caroline just shrugs her shoulders and looks away. “I’m going to be fine. I’m just worrying about this for nothing. The trial isn’t for another month probably, who the hell knows. You should go and have fun.”

“And what are you going to do?” I ask.

“Talk to my therapist. Go to work.”

I’m glad that she has started to see someone about this. I’ve been asking her to go for some time, but she kept resisting.

“Go out maybe?” I ask. I know Caroline won’t be back to being her old self unless she starts to go out again and have fun.

“Yeah, maybe.” She shrugs. Okay, maybe that was wishful thinking. For now, I should be happy that she’s just going out to work and to the therapist.

“Is the shrink helping?” I ask. When she went to her first session, she refused to talk about it except to say that it went fine. I’m hoping to get a little bit more info about it now that some time has passed.

“She said it’s going to be an uphill climb to get over it, but it’s going to be okay in the end.”

I nod.

“I just don’t think I have the energy, Ellie. I just feel so tired all the time.”

I nod and put my arm around her.

“I’m really, really sorry, Ellie. I just wish there were something I could do.”

“You can.”

“What?”

“I want you to testify against him. No matter what.”

“Yes, of course, I will. Caroline, just because I’m going on this trip doesn’t mean that I’m not going to testify. The minute that your lawyer or the DA need me, I’m there.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Caroline says, wiping the outside of her eye. Is she crying? Why would she think that I wouldn’t testify on her behalf? My mind spins a mile a minute.

“I love you,” I say and wrap my arms around her.

“I love you, too.”

I finish packing the rest of the time alone. Caroline says that she’s tired and goes to her room to lie down. She just woke up an hour ago, but she doesn’t have much energy these days. I again deliberate whether it’s such a good idea for me to leave her alone at this point. But when I voice my concerns out loud, she says that she’s planning on going to visit her family for a few days. So, there’s no need for me to hang around anyway. No one will be here.

With great effort, I manage to retrieve my large box of summer clothes from the back of my closet, I look through the contents and pick out a few tank tops and shorts that I think will work well in the Caribbean. I also try on every swimsuit I own and I’m disappointed to find that they, unfortunately, do not fit as well as they did last summer. Damn the sugar and carbs that were too hard to resist in the long dark days without Aiden. I decide to not give them any more thought and just toss them into my suitcase. I’m not going to let the fact that I look (or maybe just feel) fat prevent me from taking the trip of a lifetime with the man of my dreams.

Speaking of which, I still don’t exactly know where the hell we are really headed. When I agreed to go, I said yes to the Caribbean. But the Caribbean has hundreds of islands and at least half a dozen different countries. The precise location of where we are headed is still unknown.

---

Where exactly are we headed? I text Aiden.

The Caribbean, he texts back.

Yes, but where?

It’s a surprise. I’ll pick you up at seven.

---

I smile and return to my suitcase. At first, I was thinking that a carry-on would be enough, but after going back and forth between all of my blouses and different dresses and finally deciding to take them all, nothing but a large suitcase that weighs over fifty pounds will do.